Gender Identity Disorder and the DSM

Respectfully, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) National Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues (NCLGBTI) holds a position that Gender Identity Disorder, Gender Incongruence, Gender Dysphoria, Transvestic Fetishism and, Transvestic Disorder should not be considered as mental health diagnosis and therefore should be eliminated from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM).

The NASW-NCLGBTI holds the position that the Gender Identity Disorder, Gender Incongruence and, Gender Dysphoria should be viewed and approached from the perspective of a medical model rather than that of a mental health model. Many anatomical inconsistencies now can be corrected surgically or chemically to align with the experienced true self. A medical diagnosis for transgender individuals, whose self-experienced gender does not match the sex assigned at birth and who require medical services to align the body with the experienced self, is more appropriate and consistent with research and best practices than a mental health diagnosis.

Gender Identity Disorder and the DSM

Respectfully, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) National Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues (NCLGBTI) holds a position that Gender Identity Disorder, Gender Incongruence, Gender Dysphoria, Transvestic Fetishism and, Transvestic Disorder should not be considered as mental health diagnosis and therefore should be eliminated from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM).

The NASW-NCLGBTI holds the position that the Gender Identity Disorder, Gender Incongruence and, Gender Dysphoria should be viewed and approached from the perspective of a medical model rather than that of a mental health model. Many anatomical inconsistencies now can be corrected surgically or chemically to align with the experienced true self. A medical diagnosis for transgender individuals, whose self-experienced gender does not match the sex assigned at birth and who require medical services to align the body with the experienced self, is more appropriate and consistent with research and best practices than a mental health diagnosis.